Two Years and Counting: Investigation Into the Nike Oregon Project Continues

June 3 marked two years since a story broke alleging that Alberto Salazar, coach of the Oregon Project, had facilitated and encouraged abuse of prescription medications and supplements by his athletes in order to enhance performance. Salazar has adamantly denied all accusations along the way, and the ensuing investigation by the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency continues with no indication of when it could conclude.

In 24 months, the probe has taken many twists and turns, leaving confusion about who exactly is involved, how, and what, if any, rules were broken. No current or former Oregon Project athletes have tested positive for banned substances, and no disciplinary measures have been taken against Salazar or any other people associated with the team.

However, what appears to be an interim USADA report on the Oregon Project was leaked in February to various news outlets via Fancy Bears, which is thought to be a Russian hacking organization. The report was prepared in response to a subpoena by the Texas state medical board, which is investigating the medical practices of Dr. Jeffrey Brown, an endocrinologist based in Houston who has treated many professional runners, including those who have trained with Salazar’s group. On Thursday, The New York Times reported, citing anonymous sources, that USADA has sent a notice of rules violations to Dr. Brown, indicating “a formal signal that officials are pursuing sanctions in the case.” None of the parties commented on the report.

The leaked report includes sworn testimony from Salazar, as well as testimony and medical records turned over to USADA officials by former Oregon Project athletes Dathan Ritzenhein, a three-time Olympian, and Tara Welling, who left the team in 2014. (Ritzenhein and Welling have declined interviews with Runner’s World, as has Kara Goucher, who was one of the initial whistleblowers in the case.)

In an email to Runner’s World, a USADA spokesman said the agency can’t comment on the current status of the investigation or the leaked report.

Through a Nike spokeswoman, Salazar also declined an interview, but offered a written statement that appeared in May in the Oregonianafter the leaked report was published. Salazar said, in part, that “the successes my athletes have achieved are through hard work and dedication,” and, “I believe in clean sport and a methodical, dedicated approach to training. The Oregon Project will never permit doping and all Oregon Project athletes are required to comply with [World Anti-Doping Agency] code and [International Association of Athletics Federations] rules.”

Below is a two-year timetable of the allegations, reports, and updates on the Oregon Project investigation.

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Victor Sailer/PhotoRun

June 3, 2015

ProPublica and the BBC publish a report in which former Oregon Project athletes and coaches, including Kara Goucher and Steve Magness, said members were encouraged by coach Alberto Salazar to take unneeded prescription medications to enhance performance. They describe abuse of Therapeutic Use Exemptions (TUEs), which are granted by the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency to runners who for documented medical reasons need to take prescription drugs that are normally banned by anti-doping rules.

Within the report appears a photo of Galen Rupp’s blood chart in 2002, when he was in high school, which included a note that he was taking “testosterone medication.” Salazar and Rupp said he was taking Testoboost, a nutritional supplement, to counter unspecified side effects of prescription medication prednisone, which is an asthma drug.

“I’m really angry at this situation. It’s not fair. I haven’t done anything and yet my name is getting dragged through the mud,” he said. “If they turn out to be true and Alberto has crossed the line, then I’m the first person to leave him.”

The next day, Farah withdraws from the Diamond League meet, saying he’s “emotionally and physically drained” from the aftermath of the release of the report.

June 12, 2015

Another ProPublica report says that 17 former Oregon Project athletes and staff members have come forward with anecdotes about inappropriate prescription drug use encouraged by Salazar. Anonymous sources said they were told to run hard prior to an asthma test to increase chances of obtaining a prescription for an inhaler.

Victor Sailer/PhotoRun

June 14, 2015

Shannon Rowbury, a current Oregon Project member and three-time Olympian in the 1500 meters, says after a race in Portland that she couldn’t comment on Goucher or Magness’s experience because she wasn’t on the team then, but she had never seen any suspicious behavior by coaches or teammates and that she did not have any TUEs.

June 17, 2015

The Daily Mail reports that Farah missed two out-of-competition drug tests before the 2012 Games. The first missed test was in 2010 and the second, in which Farah said he did not hear officials ringing the doorbell, was in 2011. Athletes who miss three tests in a 12-month period can face up to a four-year competition ban. Farah said that he’s never taken performance-enhancing drugs and that his missed tests were mistakes.

Victor Sailer/PhotoRun

June 17, 2015

Lauren Fleshman, a former professional middle distance runner who is a two-time national champion in the 5,000 meters, describes to ProPublica an instance in which Salazar (who was not her coach) helped her get treatment for exercise-induced asthma. She said she was uncomfortable when he told her that taking higher doses of the medication could enhance performance.

Michael Scott

June 18, 2015

Matthew Centrowitz, the 2016 Olympic gold medalist in the 1500 meters and Oregon Project member, addresses the allegations in an interview with the Oregonian, saying that while rooming with Rupp at the University of Oregon and after college he’d never seen anything suspect. Centrowitz added that he doesn't take “anything except vitamin C and iron.”

“The allegations in the BBC/ProPublica stories are demonstrably false,” Salazar wrote. “I will never permit doping.”

Salazar also called on the BBC and ProPublica to “immediately publish a retraction of their false statements.”

In response, the publications stood by their reporting. ProPublica published an article, which stated, “Salazar disputed several allegations that were not made in the stories, or inaccurately described allegations that were. He also confirmed others, admitting, for example, he tested testosterone gel on both of his sons.”

The BBC issued a statement, too. “The detailed allegations were put to Mr. Salazar four weeks before the programme aired giving him the opportunity to address them in full.”

On the same day, the Associated Press reports that the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency is conducting an investigation into the allegations against Salazar.

“USADA takes all reports of doping seriously and we aggressively follow up on all the information we receive in order to fulfill our oath to protect clean athletes and the integrity of competition,” a USADA spokesperson said.

Mitch Kastoff/Portland Track Festival

June 25, 2015

Rupp competes at the U.S. outdoor championships, winning the 10,000-meter title. Facing the media for the first time since the allegations, he says that he stands by Salazar’s rebuttal, believes in clean sport, and that it’s been difficult to focus on his training amid the frenzy.

June 28, 2015

Goucher competes at the U.S. outdoor championships in the 5,000 meters and tells reporters after the race that she’d encourage athletes to come forward and tell USADA officials what they know.

“This is a burden I’ve been carrying around for years…I want my son to be able to believe in the sport and the system,” she said. “I want USADA to show they work, and I want justice for everyone involved.”

“After going back and forth on deciding what to share, I have ultimately decided that it won’t help the USADA investigation if I share any further evidence publicly, so any new knowledge will be shared to USADA alone,” she said.

WADA

September 29, 2015

The World Anti-Doping Agency announces it has declined to ban the use of thyroid medications, despite requests from USADA and other federations. Among the drugs alleged to be abused by members of the Oregon Project are thyroid prescriptions, which are said to help speed recovery and allow a higher intensity of training than might otherwise be possible.

Rupp wins his first marathon, the U.S. Olympic Trials, and faces more questions regarding the USADA investigation. After the race he says, “I’ve always been an advocate of clean sport. I’ve worked really hard to get where I’m at today and I’m cooperating with whatever officials I need to cooperate with.”

Kirby Lee / Image of Sport

June 28, 2016

The New York Times says USADA is seeking to depose Jeffrey Brown, an endocrinologist based in Houston who has treated many high-level track and field athletes, including members of the Oregon Project. The court papers indicate USADA believes the doctor has offered thyroid treatment, which “raises questions about whether some of these treatments may have violated sport anti-doping rules.”

Brown denies any wrongdoing.

July 1–10, 2016

At the U.S. Olympic Track & Field Trials, Rupp takes a second spot on the Rio-bound team by winning the 10,000 meters. Centrowitz wins the 1500 meters, and Rowbury is second in the 1500 meters.

July 22, 2016

A Texas judge denies USADA’s request to depose Dr. Brown, saying that the agency didn’t meet requirements to compel a deposition. Although seven athletes gave permission to release their medical records, Brown’s lawyer said he was not allowed to discuss treatments because of medical privacy laws.

Ian Walton / Getty

August 12–21, 2016

The Rio Olympics are a success for the Oregon Project. Farah wins two gold medals (10,000 and 5,000 meters), Centrowitz wins the 1500 meters, and Rupp bounces back from a disappointing performance in the 10,000 meters (fifth place) to earn bronze in the marathon.

October 21, 2016

Mary Cain, whose decision to join the Oregon Project out of high school was widely covered, announces she is no longer a member of the team.

“Although I enjoyed my time on the Oregon Project, we felt it no longer made sense logistically to compete for the team,” she wrote on her website.

Cain left Portland to go home to New York in May 2015 after a disappointing year of competition. At that time she said that she remained part of the group and coached by Salazar—and she raced in the Oregon Project uniform until October 2016. Cain has never been accused of any wrongdoing.

Ezra Shaw / Getty

January 2017

According to the USADA database of drug testing records, Centrowitz is the most tested U.S. track and field athlete of 2016. He was tested by the agency 17 times during the year. Centrowitz has never tested positive for a performance-enhancing drug.

Fiona Goodall / Getty

February 25, 2017

TheSunday Times of London reveals details of a confidential 269-page USADA report on the Oregon Project investigation, leaked by a Russian hacking group known as Fancy Bears. The report was prepared in response to a subpoena from the Texas state medical licensing board regarding the care given by Dr. Brown to past and present Oregon Project athletes. USADA said the medical board is still deciding its case.

Of major focus in the leaked document is the use of alleged high-dose injections and/or infusions of L-carnitine supplement, which is thought to increase energy production from fats, delaying the need to burn glycogen stores. Though L-carnitine is not a banned substance, the method by which it was administered and the amount that Oregon Project athletes were given by Dr. Brown, USADA alleges in the report, may have violated anti-doping rules.

Within the document, Salazar’s emails indicate he was so thrilled with the results of experimental L-carnitine infusion on Magness that he contacted Lance Armstrong (before his lifetime doping ban from cycling) about the results.

“Lance call me asap! We have tested it and it’s amazing,” Salazar wrote, according to USADA.

Farah refused comment for the article, and the piece said that Salazar “maintains that drug use has always fully complied with the WADA code and athletes were administered with L-carnitine in ‘exactly the way USADA directed.’”

March 7, 2017

The Telegraph reports that the FBI is involved in the investigation into the Oregon Project. The FBI says it cannot confirm its involvement.

The New York Times publishes its own article on the leaked USADA report and reveals more details related to the athletes named in the document, including sworn testimony by Ritzenhein, three-time Olympian and former member of the Oregon Project. Ritzenhein left the team to move to Michigan in 2014, but according to the report he began having misgivings about the practices of Salazar and Dr. Brown related to supplements and prescription drugs (including thyroid medication) as early as 2011.

After the successful L-carnitine experiment on Magness, Salazar wanted to try the procedure on Ritzenhein, who, according to the report questioned whether it was legal. “This doesn’t sound legal,” Ritzenhein said, though Salazar assured him that it was.

The medical records provided to USADA by Dr. Brown for Ritzenhein appeared to be altered from those given to Ritzenhein. USADA’s version said he received 45ml of L-carnitine, which is a legal amount. Ritzenhein’s records didn’t contain that annotation, indicating it was added at a later date.

Runner's World

May 19, 2017

Centrowitz’s father, Matt Centrowitz, announces he’s stepping down from his role as head coach at American University, in part to take on an “increased coaching presence” with his son. He clarifies to the Washington Post that the decision has “nothing to do” with the USADA investigation. “Alberto’s still the coach. I’ll help him when Alberto can’t be in two places,” the elder Centrowitz said.

In a written statement to the Oregonian and later to Runner’s World, Salazar called the allegations in the leaked report “incorrect” and said USADA’s “conjecture regarding L-carnitine is simply wrong.”

“I’ve done more than any coach to continuously disprove false allegations where no violation has occurred,” Salazar wrote. “I fully cooperated, voluntarily answered USADA’s questions under oath and provided thousands of documents.”

May 30, 2017

ProPublica and the BBC publish a new report showing how some athletes’ medical records obtained from Dr. Brown in the leaked USADA document appear to have been altered, including those of Ritzenhein and Magness. The article includes comments from Magness, who said his copy of the records regarding at least one treatment does not match the one in the USADA report.

At issue are the allegations that Dr. Brown was providing medications and treatments at the request of Salazar without conducting proper patient exams first to ascertain if prescriptions were medically necessary.

“My only speculation is that the changes were made to make it look like patient care had been given,” Magness said.

Dr. Brown’s lawyer maintains that the records were not altered.

June 5, 2017

Ryan Madden, USADA spokesman, tells Runner’s World in an email, “I can only say that we do not comment on ongoing investigations, nor can we comment on the leaked report.”

June 8, 2017

The New York Times, citing anonymous sources, reports USADA has sent a notice of rules violations to Dr. Brown. The Times says the notice “is a formal signal that officials are pursuing sanctions in the case.” None of the parties commented on the report.

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